"You are the first to tell me so," said the damsel with a happy blush.
"Then," he retorted promptly, "may I not claim my reward as an astronomer?"
The lady looked puzzled. "What reward?" she asked.
"Why, the right to give my name to the star I have discovered!"
"So you want to marry Alice, do you?" asked the girl's father of her young man.
"Very much indeed," replied the youth.
"Can you support a family?"
The young man reflected a moment, and then asked, "How many are there of you, sir?"